So what if the dome gets submerged underwater? Governments were dumping nuclear waste directly into the ocean for more than fifty years, and while that practice has since been banned over coastal health concerns, it hardly spelled the end of the planet. There's a definite doom-and-gloom tone to this piece, but where's the payoff? What, exactly, do the filmmakers think is going to happen IF the dome breaks, and 11 tons† of radioactive waste leaks into the water, somewhere way out in the middle of the Pacific?

The filmmakers don't actually say, because I suspect they already know the answer is: not much.

†(assuming an average density of 1.0 g/cm3 for the 111,000y3 of radioactive soil; this is about 6% of what Germany dumped into the ocean in 1967 alone)

memedumpsterThank god the laws of physics rounds off to the nearest giveafuck.

EvilHomerAlso, it's worth point out that the international ban on ocean disposal was more precautionary than anything else; numerous environmental studies have been done over the years, and they have all concluded that the actual environmental damage, even from those sites which were leaking, was negligible.

memedumpsterThe Jet Jaguar Institute of Godzilla Exploration remains skeptical due to the lack of 21st century data.

RockBoltYeah this is a hazard to the very local surroundings of the dome and not much else. Plenty of fizzled weapon parts and irradiated coral already ended up in the water, probably significantly more than what's in the dome as it is. Really not unlike Fukishima, dilution is the solution to pollution.

Caminante NocturnoYour sensible take on all of this is really throwing a wet blanket on my hand wringing!

I know you can't nuke the oceans, but EvilHomer doesn't know I know that.

EvilHomer>> I know you can't nuke the oceans, but EvilHomer doesn't know I know that.

Either that, or you're too proud to admit a mistake, and are now desperately trying to retcon your end-times paranoia with a limp troll-shield excuse.

This video should be renamed "Trolling Catastrophists... FOR SCIENCE!" Calling back to last week's JHM submission {1}, this current video is a good illustration of my previous point: that Rebecca Watson, despite having her heart in the right place, was (owing to her reliance on badly-presented data) nevertheless drawing a flawed conclusion in regards to the behavior of consumers of "mainstream scientific viewpoints" versus the behavior of consumers of "conspiracy viewpoints".

Now, yes, technically speaking, poeTV is an "alternative" website, and we predominately consume "alternative" (i.e. non-corporate, non-mainstream) material. The researchers Ms Watson cited may or may not have considered us to be as such for the purposes of their original study. However, I think the poe community can be considered "mainstream", or more specifically, "mainstream scientific", in that most of us here believe in the value of empirical science and in *independently verifiable claims* (the verifiability of claims being perhaps the core difference in Ms Watson's understanding of what constitutes "mainstream" versus "conspiracy" thinking). We are, most of us, believers in what the current scientific status quo tells us is true.

And yet, we STILL have problems with skepticism, particularly when it comes to socially manipulative matters like "climate" or "environmentalism". Hell, I'm not going to lie here, the first thing I thought when I was watching this video was "holy fuck, we are so screwed!" That was, after all, the filmmakers' intent, and they really do know how to get that message across, at least on an emotional level. I felt a big lump of fear, same as the rest of us probably did, until I sat down and analyzed the message a bit more thoroughly. The main point here is, it's *very easy* to trick people, even intelligent, well-educated people! Gullibility is not the sole domain of rival sociological groups whom Rebecca Watson despises; it is something that we all have to be vigilante of, a basic human flaw which can only be overcome by actively and dynamically questioning all authorities.

{1} http://www.poetv.com/video.php?vid=146020

memedumpsterI looked shit up way back in the day regarding Fukishima's radiation being detected on the West Coast. It's waaaaay beneath lethal and will fall back to background levels in a few years.

Critical thinking is easy, you should try it. For every dumbshit claim someone makes, have a criteria of >observation< that BOTH (not either, not one or the other, fuckin both) proves and falsifies the claim. Then look for them. Take note of which one you find. Anything lacking the capability of proof AND(not or, not maybe, not ponies) falsification is a meaningless claim, because you can't parse the presence or absence logically if one was never defined. This renders 100% of rhetoric useless to anyone not lying and makes you highly resistant to bullshit.

I am going to write a script that explodes simple statements into Homersprechen though. It will be glorious.

bopetonWell if I ever need some weapons-grade plutonium, I guess I know where to go.

Caminante NocturnoThe stock footage from these tests was one of the greatest things the United States Military ever did for the movie industry.

chumbucketI recall some article in Omni magazine talking about how society could likely "forget" the vaults and mausoleums where it dumped its radioactive material decades or centuries in the future and might be in for a nice "surprise" if it pops open one.